Encaustic and the Photographic Image

In its infancy, photography was compared, often unfavorably, with painting and was viewed as a shortcut to art. Early creative photographers such as Gertrude Käsebier approached the camera as a tool, manipulating images to reach an artistic vision, while those such as Paul Strand valued ‘straight’ rather than manipulated photographic printing, valuing the formal qualities of light, shadow and sharp focus that are unique to photography. A champion of photography as a fine art form in its entire range of expression was Alfred Stieglitz, who was responsible for first introducing photography into museum collections.

The artists whose works are shown here bring the rich histories of encaustic and photography together in unique and intriguing ways. Whether using vintage photographs, digital images, remote capturing, or cyanotype, these artists have found their distinctive visual expressions in the combination of encaustic and the photographic image.

“A motion-sensitive trail camera records and instantly transmits surveillance-style snapshots to an iPhone. These ‘photo texts’ from the animals are triggered by chance creating random, intimate compositions uniting the world of the seen with the unseen. We become joined for an instant through the mystical window of technology.”

“In the Torso series I deal with the change and transformation as we grow and age. I photograph the human body and capture earth images, merging them to show our interconnectedness and dependency on the physical world. Through ephemeral materials, paint and wax, I address sensuality, ageing, and transience.”

“I often use one photographic image repeatedly in my work to explore a theme from different perspectives. The female form in this piece is an example of this practice. She ‘talks to God’ with her back to a sacred garden setting.”

“As a photo-based artist, my work is indisputably tied to the real world; but I de-emphasize photography’s representational or reporting qualities, and stress instead its expressive nature. I want to convey an essence and provide a visceral connection. The various techniques I use, including encaustic, help to achieve this.”

“My photographic images and mixed media works blur the boundaries between the real and the unreal. These visual narratives evoke a sense of transience, longing, memory, and dislocation. My process is an act of intuition and investigation. I construct dreamy visions and altered habitats with found or borrowed disparate sources.”

“The photo collage in this series consists of my photographs, vintage photographs and ephemera that have been digitally altered, combined and repurposed to add narrative texture to the Mermaid’s bodies and garments.”

“I am working with the idea of a photograph being more than representation. Staining the paper gives me more to work with, and allows the unpredictable. I want the observer to view the image as a whole composition and see more than only subject matter.”

“This new series of work reaches back to explore the shadows of memory. I use encaustic and the cyanotype process to transform both images and three-dimensional objects. This is a step out of my sculptural comfort zone and into a more planar surface.”

Post navigation

3 thoughts on “Encaustic and the Photographic Image”

Jeri Eisberg’s Sugar Maple Floaters in Encaustic Art was one of two works that led me to learn Encaustics as a way to finally evoke and civil bevy my photographic images, bringing them at once more to life and at the same time freeing them from the limitations of prints. Thank you Jeri! The other work, in the same book, was Fawn Potash’s Branches. I am as drawn to these works today as I was when I first saw them. I owe you both a debt of gratitude for a wonderful seven year adventure – and I’m just getting started. Thanks too, to Paula Roland for the actual introduction to the medium

Issue 15

IN THE HEADER: Lynda Ray

Saturated color and geometric pattern, executed with a paint-laden brush, are the hallmarks of Lynda Ray’s work. “My paintings are containers of time. The tiers of color viewed through layers of pattern reveal traces of previous stages, compressed like a double-exposure photograph,” says Lynda, who lives in Virginia and exhibits and teaches throughout the United States.
Image: Double Fade, 2016, encaustic on panel, 12 x 12 inches. Click pic to view the work larger

Exhibitions

ProWax members exhibit widely and often. Here, Sandi Miot (California) is represented with an image of the cover of her catalog, Sandi Miot: The Medium is the Muse, which is also the title of her retrospective at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. Click pic to see our Exhibitions listings, edited by Cheryl McClure, where you will find more on Sandi’s show. Image: Detail of Purple Sculpture from the Biome series, 2015, mixed media and wax

Workshops

ProWax members teach throughout the United States and Internationally. Here, Binnie Birstein (Connecticut) is shown printing an encaustic collagraph by a student in one of her recent workshops. Binnie teaches through the United States. Click pic to see our Workshop listings, edited by Dawna Bemis

Bio

Each issue we’ll spotlight a PWJ staffer. Corina Alvarezdelugo (Connecticut) is involved in the technical production of ProWax Journal. Born in Venezuela and trained there and in the United States, Corina is a painter and sculptor who works in a variety of mediums including wax. Click pic to read more about Corina and the entire staff on our Bios page, edited by Hylla Evans

Conference 11

For ProWax Journal Staff

Copyright Notice

All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ProWax Journal or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Please Support PWJ

Contributions to ProWax Journal will help us expand coverage of issues facing artists.

Copyright Notice

All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ProWax Journal or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.